Howard F. Hall

Howard F. Hall
Born	Pennsylvania, U.S.
Service / branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1994–present
Rank	Colonel
Commands	AAV platoon, 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit B Company, 8th Marine Regiment C Company, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade Marine Corps Base Quantico
Awards	Defense Superior Service Medal Bronze Star Medal Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with two gold stars Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals with gold star Combat Action Ribbon

Howard "Chip" Hall is a United States Marine Corps colonel currently serving as deputy commander at the Marine Corps Training and Education base outside Triangle, Virginia.

Early life and education

As a Pennsylvania native, Hall graduated from the area high School in Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania in 1988. While remaining in his home state, Hall later graduated from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1992. His college majors included Mathematics and Physics.

Military career

Hall's career in the Marine Corps began in 1994, upon earning his commission as a second lieutenant. His training in Assault Amphibian Vehicles (AAV) led to his first command of an AAV platoon in the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion in the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Hall along with the 11th Marines were stationed aboard the USS Harpers Ferry on a WESTPAC deployment. Afterwards, Hall transferred to Washington D.C. where he assumed command of B Company in the 8th Marine Regiment. While in D.C., Hall served as a White House military social aide during the Clinton administration.

In 2001, Hall graduated from the Marine Corps Command and Control Systems Course with top honors. This led to his next command over C Company, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. While serving in this post, Hall and his unit were deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. After completing this tour, Hall returned to the U.S. where he assumed new duties as the Assistant Inspector-Instructor for the 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion stationed in Tampa, Florida. In 2005, Hall was deployed overseas to Fallujah, Iraq where he served as the deputy senior advisor to the 1st Brigade of the Iraqi Intervention forces.

After completing his tour in Iraq, Hall spent 2006 at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College where he graduated with a master's degree in military studies. Upon graduating in 2007, Hall became Executive Officer of the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion. He returned once more to Iraq where he served as the Operations Officer for Regimental Combat Team 5 in Al-Asad. After this latest overseas deployment, Hall next served as the Military Legislative Aide to Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher as part of a Legislative Fellowship program. Once completed, Hall transitioned to Quantico to serve as the Operations Officer for the Marine Corps Combat Development Command. Hall then returned to his previous command of the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion from 2011 to 2013.

Hall attended the National War College in 2013 and graduated in 2014 with a master's degree in National Security Strategy. From July 2014 to June 2015, Hall served his first term as Chief of the Joint Readiness Staff. He completed his second term as Readiness Division chief from June 2015 to May 2017. He was deployed to Bahrain as part of his command as Director of Operations for the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade from June 2017 to June 2018. Upon returning stateside to Quantico, Virginia, Hall assumed command of the Weapons Training Battalion at the MC Training and Education Command. Since 2018, Hall serves as the Captain of the Marine Corps Shooting Team and holds extensive oversight of the regionally-aligned commands of Marine Detachments (MARDET) in Fort Lee, Virginia, Fort Meade, Maryland, the Judge Advocate General Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Marine Corps Civil-Military Operations School in Quantico, Virginia and the Cyber-Intelligence detachment in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Personal life

Hall is married to Mary Jean.

Awards and decorations

Hall's awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with two gold stars, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals with gold star, and a Combat Action Ribbon. In military shooting contests, Hall earned a Silver Medal in the 2013 All-Navy matches and a Bronze Medal in the 2012 Pacific Fleet matches.